Katie from Good Life Eats is here as my guest today. She’s sharing a fantastic way to celebrate Earth Day, getting her garden ready to grow!

In my part of the world spring has already sprung. That’s not to say that we haven’t reverted back to winter once or twice, but we’ve been lucky enough to experience some of nature’s wonders already. Seeing everything come to life again makes me especially grateful for all the beauty we experience in this world. In celebration of Earth Day, I thought I’d share some of that beauty with you.

Our family spent the entire summer last year turning our backyard into something other than a giant sandbox. This year we’ve already begun a new adventure – growing some of our own food. I was so inspired by Barbara Kingsolver’s Animal, Vegetable, Miracle and her family’s experience through a year of growing all their own food. It also opened my eyes to paying more attention to eating what is in season. Because when it’s not in season, more often than not it has to travel very far to get to me.

Produce is by far my biggest weekly food expense. I use a lot of tomatoes and fresh herbs. Why not try my hand and growing some myself? I know from my neighbor’s bounty last summer that garden fresh is so delicious. How I fantasize that in just a few months I will (hopefully!) be able to go outside and pick fresh fruit and veggies for my family. How nice it will be to go to the garden for cooking inspiration.

So far it has been a really fun and rewarding project even though we have yet seen the fruits of our labor, so to speak. We first had to clear away what seemed to be at least a ton of rocks, work compost into our nutrient void sandy soil. Our four-year old has had a magical time working in his way – planting seeds, learning names of new vegetables, shopping for plants, watering and dumping or daily collection into our DIY compost bin. We still have some work to do, but we’ve made a lot of progress already. To see green sprouting upwards and taking form as a plant is still so fascinating to a child (and me as well).

Marie

Marie is founder and managing editor of Make and Takes, and author of the book, Make and Takes for Kids. There’s always a project going on at her house and is often cluttered with crafts, glitter, and glue. When she’s not crafting and creating with her kids, she loves to run, read, and blog! Follow her on Twitter and Google+.